A short history of coffee
When people meet over a coffee, connections are made or strengthened, laughs had, treats consumed (that's how we do things at Zou Zou anyway), and stories shared - but do you know the story of coffee?
Joseph Atallah, Zou Zou Coffee's inventor and designer, loves everything about coffee and good food - growing up in Lebanon has that effect. He took his passion further than most, studying Science, Organic Chemistry and Food Science at university, and spends his spare time learning more and more about the things he loves, including the history of coffee.
Here, he shares the tale of the world's greatest bean.
Whether you enjoy Lebanese, Greek or Turkish coffee, an espresso, filtered coffee, French press or cold drip, today's beans and roasting processes follow what was originally developed in Yemen many centuries ago.
Coffee plants first came to Yemen from Ethiopia. Coffee had been used as a drink, but it was in Yemen that the plants were cultivated. During the 1400s (15th Century), Sufi monks on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula began to develop and roast the beans, and create the processes to extract the flavour into the Lebanese, Greek and Turkish beverage we know and enjoy today.
Photo by Gerson Cifuentes on Unsplash
Yemeni farmers took advantage of their country's unique terrain, high elevation and climatic conditions to grow coffee plants, conditions not suited to most other plants.
Sufi monks turned the fruit of the coffee tree into coffee, our favourite hot drink. The ripe cherries, also known as bunn, were sun-dried to remove the husk, exposing the green coffee beans. The seeds were then selected, roasted and ground.
The Sufi monks originally ground the roasted coffee beans in a wooden mortar and pestle. Unable to make the grounds fine enough, they used to boil it, allow it to cool down then boil it again a number of times to get the flavour of the coffee. Three main recipes were popularised; coffee [sadah] like today's black coffee, plain with no sugar; coffee with a bit of sugar added to take the edge off the bitterness of coffee; coffee with more sugar which was often served as a sweet with or without dessert.
“At first the Arab Sufi monks adopted coffee as a drink that would allow them to stay awake for midnight prayers more easily... While coffee was first considered a medicine or religious aid, it soon enough slipped into everyday use.” Mark Pendergrast
Interestingly, in 1502, Christopher Columbus brought chocolate back to Europe from Peru. In Peru, hot chocolate was unsweetened and laced with chilli. In Europe, they removed chilli and added sugar to the hot beverage instead. This sweetened version became popular, and soon after, many chocolate shops were established.
The beginnings of two humble beans becoming worldwide well-loved drinks.
The first coffee house opened in Istanbul in 1553.
"Coffee is probably the most renowned of all Turkish influences. The offering of coffee to guests took on a ritual significance in Turkish etiquette, and among the upper classes complex formalities attended its serving in porcelain cups and richly jewelled holders. One of the earliest European travellers to Turkey to mention coffee was George Sandys, who around 1610 wrote:
'Although they be destitute of Taverns, yet have they their Coffa-houses, which something resembles them. There sit they chatting most of the day, and sip of a drink called Coffa (of the berry that it is made of) in little China dishes: as hot as they can suffer it'. Read more.
Photo by Valiant Made on Unsplash
When coffee went to Turkey, the Turks made the coffee much finer by using a brass coffee grinder. This fine grind allowed the beans to yield the flavour of the coffee by boiling only once.
From the port of Mocha on Yemen's southwestern Coast, coffee travelled all over the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, northern Africa and later spread to Europe through Malta. Introduced by Turkish Muslim slaves during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, coffee became popular in Maltese high society, and many coffee shops opened.
In Europe, coffee was known as Mocha, and by 1650 AD, coffee shops and cafes had spawned throughout Europe. When coffee went to Europe, the Europeans made a mechanical grinder to grind the coffee on a larger scale, very similar to what we do today.
The first coffee house in England was opened in St Michael's Alley in Cornhill in the late 16th Century using coffee originally from Turkey. Later, coffee was imported to England from India and Java by the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company
In England, Oxford's Queen's Lane Coffee House was established in 1654 and still operates today, although from a different site. By 1675 there were more than 3000 coffee houses throughout England.
The word "coffee" entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch koffie, borrowed from the Turkish kahve, in turn, borrowed from the Arabic qahwah. Read more.
In Vienna, the first coffee house was opened in 1683 by a Polish military officer. The coffee had come from the spoils of the defeat of the Turkish army after the Battle of Vienna. In this coffee house, they popularised the use of filtering the coffee by using a sock and adding milk and sugar to the coffee.
In many countries, coffee houses faced disruption. In England, coffee houses were used for deep religious and political discussions, and authorities distrusted the gathering of people and disliked the potential for subversion. Coffee houses were repeatedly closed in the Muslim world because authorities were concerned about coffee being a stimulus.
Coffee houses tended to attract intellectuals, artists, political and religious leaders, and the cream of the thinking class. In Vienna in the 19th Century, a very special culture developed around coffee houses inspiring world-renowned thinkers Gustav Klimt, Sigmund Freud, James Joyce, and Egon Schiele, and spread throughout central Europe,
In Vienna, the multiculturally diverse crowds, full of progressives and innovators, led to the development of different types of coffee preparation. The cappuccino evolved from the Viennese Kapuziner coffee.
Coffee continued to make its way into cafes, restaurants, and homes worldwide, with many countries adapting recipes to make it their own.
Happy sipping.
Come along to a Turkish coffee and fortune reading introduction class in Sydney!
Our fun, informative, and hands-on classes are designed for beginners and people who love Turkish, Arabic or Greek coffee or people who want to taste it for the first time. We'll teach you everything you need to know about Turkish, Arabic or Greek coffee: its history, the differences between this coffee and espresso, and how to make and enjoy the perfect cup! You'll also learn about the ancient art of reading fortunes in Turkish coffee cups.
*PLEASE NOTE: We do not offer a personalised fortune reading. We introduce you to the tradition of coffee cup reading and provide a guide for you to read and use to interpret your friends’ fortunes.